Countdown
by RedShirt94
Summary: "There was no sudden revelation as if he had woken from a dream, no change whatsoever." Slight SasuNaru.


**The Eccentric Otaku:** Yes, I should be working on my stories. No, I'm not working on my stories at the moment. I was in the mood to re-edit my old oneshots. And so, here is an edited version of the older version.

**Warning:** Spoilers to those who haven't read to the part where Sasuke goes rogue and apeshit crazy. Slight SasuNaru.

**Disclaimer:** Me no own Naruto. If I did...well, there would probably be PWP(Porn without plot) and lots of yaoi. But let's ignore that, shall we?

_

* * *

Tap, tap, tap._

Water dripped from a nearby sink, the sound echoing throughout the silent hospital room. A lone figure sat on the single bed quietly, staring blankly ahead.

He had failed.

The words were bitter. They danced around him tauntingly, reminding him, never giving him the small hospitality of forgetting his gut-wrenching failure.

Naruto clenched his fist, and never before had he felt such an irresistible urge to punch something. To punch that _idiot_. To punch himself.

Every inch of him was filled with utter loathing, though he wasn't quite sure who it was directed at. Hate for Sasuke, himself, or the whole goddamn world?

_Tap, tap, tap._

The silence was eating away at him, and he felt that, if it lasted any longer, he would cease to exist, leaving only an empty carcass in his place.

What was he going to do? What could he do?

He was supposed to be the future Hokage, damn it! How could he live up to that if he couldn't even save one of his friends? The Fourth Hokage could have done it. The Third Hokage as well.

He was failure.

_Tap, tap, tap._

He wished this was a dream.

He would be running to their training grounds right about now, getting chewed out by Sakura for being late. Not that it mattered, since he was there before their sensei anyway.

He would pretend not to notice Sakura's blatant staring at Sasuke, and he would make his moves on her like all the times before.

A fight would break out between him and Sasuke, as always, though he never quite remembered what started them. A part of him figured they were his own doing.

Then their sensei would show up, giving some lame ass remark about how he crossed paths with a black cat and had to take another route.

Everything would be the same, normal, cheery in its own way.

_He_ would be here.

_Tap, tap, tap._

Yes, he would pretend this was a dream.

If this was a dream, that would mean that bastard was still here, and at the moment, that was all that mattered. They would fight, spar, or throw unsightly comments back and forth, but he would be here. Naruto had never appreciated the other's presence as much as he did now.

He just couldn't imagine days without the boy.

Flirting with Sakura would never be the same, because the boy wouldn't be there to steal the attention away.

He couldn't remember a day that the boy hadn't been there, ready to throw a comment or two regarding his 'measly fighting skills' that were 'oh so pathetic'.

He could barely remember a day without the boy at all.

_Tap, tap, tap._

Maybe, just maybe, if he counted down from five, pinched himself, and opened his eyes…maybe he would wake up.

Maybe the boy would still be here.

"_Five,_" The hoarse whisper vibrated in the air, throaty.

He let his mind wander to the memories of the past; during the fight with Zabuza.

The damn fool might has well have sacrificed his life for him, what, with throwing himself at dangerous and pointy projectiles, just to save him.

And then he had almost died.

When he watched the boy take a gasp of air, breathe in a part of this world, _live_; Naruto had never felt so relieved.

"_Four,_"

He remembered the first time they met.

They were polar opposites; they fought over each and ever little thing. Neither thought that they would be anything but enemies, nuisances to each other.

They were wrong.

Over the time they spent with each other, be it training or fighting, the insults grew less malicious, and the hate with which they uttered each others' names disappeared.

They were friends. Best friends, one might venture to say.

Neither would admit it, lest they face the embarrassment with which someone would surely bless upon them, but it was true.

They had grown to like each other.

"_Three,_"

The memories of the Chuunin Exam were a slap to the face.

After meeting Orochimaru, after knowing what he did to Sasuke, Naruto had never felt such rage directed at one person until then. He had sworn to protect his friend at all costs, much like he had done for him at one point.

As it turns out, he had failed at another thing.

"_Two,_" Hesitance was beginning to crawl into his voice now.

Blankets of emotions began to layer on top of him, suffocating him with each added layer.

So many emotions, raw and sharp as they tore at him, shredded him; the fear, sorrow, grief, rage, betrayal, hurt, _the pain_.

What if he didn't wake up? Dear god, what if this wasn't a dream?

"_O-one,_" His voice betrayed the unadulterated fear he felt.

Naruto hesitantly raised an arm, moved it closer to one of his legs, and pinched.

Besides the prickle of pain, nothing changed. There was no sudden revelation as if he had woken from a dream, no change whatsoever.

Slowly, shakily, Naruto began to pry an eyelid open.

His heart was beating erratically and he couldn't hear anything over its pounding beats that were rhythmic, continuous, and _so loud._

He didn't breathe as he took in his small hospital room; he couldn't breathe.

_Tap, tap, tap._

No one was there.

He was still in this dinky hospital room, all alone, that damn tap still splitting his eardrums, and on the brink of madness with injuries and memories that reminded him of his failure to save his friend.

A lone tear dripped down from his suddenly warm and bleary eyes as he continued to clench his fist.

He was all alone, and nothing had ever felt so _wrong_.

_Tap, tap, tap._


End file.
